User interface for management of a dynamic video signal processing platform

ABSTRACT

A computing device and method for providing a user interface for summarizing and presenting information regarding dynamic provisioning and deployment of media processing resources, in a manner that is easy and intuitive and analogizes well to conventional physical media processing deployment. Users are not required to understand hypervisor configuration or virtual machine deployment, or switch through various layers and screens to find configuration information or controls, a process that may be particularly slow, complex, and difficult to learn, particularly for media and broadcast engineers unfamiliar with virtualization technologies. Instead, the present user interface improves efficiency of use of the computing environment for media processing, by providing deployment information in a format similar to physical processing deployment. Furthermore, because the user interface lends itself to intuitive monitoring and use, users may more accurately and efficiently deploy and undeploy processing resources, reducing overall system processing requirements, cost, and power consumption.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The current application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/920,095, filed Mar. 13, 2018, which claims priority to U.S.Patent Provisional Application No. 62/471,275, filed Mar. 14, 2017, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and systems forproviding an intuitive user interface for management of mediaprocessing, including video signal processing, across a plurality ofnetwork processing nodes.

BACKGROUND

In the past, in order to create a video signal flow for processing avideo signal, physical equipment need to be acquired and physicallyassembled together in a rack of equipment. A physical equipment rack isa frame that is used to hold various hardware devices, e.g., servers,hard disk drives, and other electronic equipment. Devices, such as,e.g., an up-converter, might be included in such equipment racks forvideo signal processing. The equipment rack typically contains multipleslots for physically receiving a piece of equipment. The slots, alsocalled bays, are designed to receive and hold the units of equipment.The individual equipment devices may be inserted into a slot and fixedwith a screw or other fastening mechanism.

An equipment rack needed to be equipped with all equipment that might beneeded for potential signal processing needs. Updating the capabilitiesof the video processing equipment might require acquiring and physicallyinserting a new piece of equipment or a new card into the rack unit. Asthe equipment needed to be physically acquired and installed to meet thevideo processing needs of a user, the user needed to overprovision therack by anticipating a peak capacity of needs.

Broadcast and media production engineers are familiar with the paradigmof physical racks with processing equipment, as discrete processingunits have been utilized in broadcast environments for close to acentury. Physical jackfields or patch bays are utilized to route signalsthrough these processing units, with instant and intuitive visualindications of signal flow.

However, with the rise of digital processing and, in particular, virtualmachine environments with cloud-based servers or clusters that providemedia processing capabilities, deployment of processing resources is nolonger intuitive. In particular, as many broadcast and media productionengineers may lack significant information technology experience, theconcept of dynamic instantiation of virtual machines and virtualappliances may be alien and inaccessible.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In order to address the problem in configuring and managing variousapplications for performing broadcast tasks, the present applicationprovides the ability for a user to dynamically optimize a video signalprocessing platform. A cluster manager may dynamically manage adistribution of virtual media processing devices across a group ofnetwork processing nodes according to a user input regarding signalprocessing capabilities needed by the user. A graphical representationof the video signal processing platform including the instantiatedvirtual media processing devices may be provided to the user at a userinterface. The user interface may provide, e.g., a Virtual Rack Unit(VRU) configuration that illustrates a configuration of virtual mediaprocessing devices that are dynamically distributed across the networkprocessing nodes using a familiar and intuitive physical equipment rackdesign. The user interface may enable the user to add and removeapplication instances, e.g., to provision and un-provision the virtualmedia processing devices, by dragging and dropping icons in a slot on agraphical VRU configuration rack. Based on the configuration entered atthe user interface, a cluster manager may dynamically create andallocate the virtual media processing devices to available networkprocessing nodes.

Accordingly, the user interface provided by the systems and methodsdiscussed herein provides a particular manner of summarizing andpresenting information regarding dynamic provisioning and deployment ofmedia processing resources, in a manner that is easy and intuitive andanalogizes well to conventional physical media processing deployment.Unlike prior art virtual machine monitor (VMM) interfaces, users are notrequired to understand hypervisor configuration or virtual machinedeployment, or switch through various layers and screens to findconfiguration information or controls, a process that may beparticularly slow, complex, and difficult to learn, particularly formedia and broadcast engineers unfamiliar with virtualizationtechnologies. Instead, the present user interface improves efficiency ofuse of the computing environment for media processing, by providingdeployment information in a format similar to physical processingdeployment. Furthermore, because the user interface lends itself tointuitive monitoring and use, users may more accurately and efficientlydeploy and undeploy processing resources, reducing overall systemprocessing requirements, cost, and power consumption.

In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a computing devicecomprising a display screen, the computing device being configured todisplay on the screen at least one virtual equipment rack comprising aplurality of slots, and at least one item of virtual equipment in atleast one slot of the plurality of slots. Each item of virtual equipmentrepresents an instance of a virtual media processing applicationexecuted by at least one remote computing device; and each item ofvirtual equipment occupies a number of slots of the plurality of slotsof the virtual equipment rack proportional to the amount of computingresources utilized by the corresponding virtual media processingapplication.

In some implementations, the total number of slots of the at least onevirtual equipment rack corresponds to a total amount of computingresources available for the virtual media processing applications. Insome implementations, each item of virtual equipment further comprisesan indicator of an execution state of the corresponding instance of thevirtual media processing application. In a further implementation, theexecution states comprise provisioned, executing, and non-provisioned.In another further implementation, the computing device is configured toretrieve an identification of the execution state of each virtual mediaprocessing application from the at least one remote computing device. Instill another further implementation, responsive to detection of a userinteraction with an item of virtual equipment, the computing device isconfigured to transmit a configuration command for the correspondingvirtual media processing application to the at least one remotecomputing device.

In some implementations, each item of virtual equipment furthercomprises a predetermined indicator of a type of the correspondinginstance of the virtual media processing application, the predeterminedindicator comprising a predetermined color or pattern corresponding tothe type. In some implementations, the computing device is configured todirect the at least one remote computing device to provide a mediasignal from a first virtual media processing application to a secondvirtual media processing application, responsive to a first item ofvirtual equipment corresponding to the first virtual media processingapplication occupying a slot adjacent to a slot containing a second itemof virtual equipment corresponding to the second virtual mediaprocessing application in the virtual equipment rack. In someimplementations, the computing device is further configured to displayon the screen an indicator of a total amount of media processingcapacity available to computing device. In some implementations, the atleast one remote computing device comprises a cluster of computingdevices executing at least one virtual computing device.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method thatincludes displaying, on a computing device comprising a display screen,at least one virtual equipment rack comprising a plurality of slots. Themethod also includes displaying at least one item of virtual equipmentin at least one slot of the plurality of slots, each item of virtualequipment representing an instance of a virtual media processingapplication executed by at least one remote computing device. The methodalso includes retrieving an identification of an execution state of eachvirtual media processing application from the at least one remotecomputing device; and modifying the display of the at least one item ofvirtual equipment to display an indicator of the execution state of thecorresponding instance of the virtual media processing application.

In some implementations, each item of virtual equipment occupies anumber of slots of the plurality of slots of the virtual equipment rackproportional to the amount of computing resources utilized by thecorresponding virtual media processing application. In someimplementations, the total number of slots of the at least one virtualequipment rack corresponds to a total amount of computing resourcesavailable for the virtual media processing applications.

In some implementations, the execution states comprise provisioned,executing, and non-provisioned. In some implementations, the methodincludes, responsive to detection of a user interaction with an item ofvirtual equipment, transmitting a configuration command for thecorresponding virtual media processing application to the at least oneremote computing device. In some implementations, each item of virtualequipment further comprises a predetermined indicator of a type of thecorresponding instance of the virtual media processing application, thepredetermined indicator comprising a predetermined color or patterncorresponding to the type.

In some implementations, the method includes directing the at least oneremote computing device to provide a media signal from a first virtualmedia processing application to a second virtual media processingapplication, responsive to a first item of virtual equipmentcorresponding to the first virtual media processing applicationoccupying a slot adjacent to a slot containing a second item of virtualequipment corresponding to the second virtual media processingapplication in the virtual equipment rack. In some implementations, themethod includes directing the at least one remote computing device toprovide a media signal from a first virtual media processing applicationto a second virtual media processing application, responsive to a firstitem of virtual equipment corresponding to the first virtual mediaprocessing application occupying a slot adjacent to a slot containing asecond item of virtual equipment corresponding to the second virtualmedia processing application in the virtual equipment rack. In someimplementations, the method includes, responsive to detection of a userinteraction with an executing item of virtual equipment, transmitting adeprovisioning command for the corresponding virtual media processingapplication to the at least one remote computing device. In someimplementations, the at least one remote computing device comprises acluster of computing devices executing at least one virtual computingdevice.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readablemedium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus, e.g., may beconfigured to receive a user input regarding signal processingcapabilities. The apparatus determines network processing node resourcesof distributed network processing nodes and dynamically instantiatesvirtual media processing devices based on the user input to provide thesignal processing capabilities. The apparatus may allocate theinstantiated plurality of different virtual media processing devicesacross the distributed network processing nodes to form a video signalprocessing flow based on the determined network processing noderesources and may process a video signal using the video signalprocessing flow. A graphical representation of the instantiated virtualmedia processing devices may be provided to a user at a user interface.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example user interface page showing an overview ofa VRU configuration according to aspects of the present application.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example application instance panel according toaspects of the present application.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example network system usable in accordance withthe VRU configuration management aspects of the present application.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for an example method for managing a VRUconfiguration according to aspects of the present application.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for anapparatus employing a processing system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example user interface page showing a package orapplication store for a VRU configuration according to aspects of thepresent application.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example user interface page showing a statussummary of applications in a VRU configuration according to aspects ofthe present application.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example user interface page showing informationregarding nodes of a VRU configuration according to aspects of thepresent application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of a dynamic video signal processing platform system andmethod will now be presented with reference to various apparatus andmethods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the followingdetailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings byvarious blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc.(collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may beimplemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or anycombination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardwareor software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” thatincludes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs),central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors,systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gatedlogic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardwareconfigured to perform the various functionality described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system mayexecute software. Software shall be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software components, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions describedmay be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded asone or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage mediamay be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise arandom-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of theaforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other mediumthat can be used to store computer executable code in the form ofinstructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

The present application provides a way to alleviate problems associatedwith previous physical equipment racks. The present application providesthe ability for a user to dynamically optimize a video signal processingplatform. A cluster manager may dynamically manage a distribution ofvirtual media processing devices across a group of network processingnodes according to a user input regarding signal processing capabilitiesneeded by the user.

A graphical representation of the instantiated virtual media processingdevices may be provided to the user at a user interface. The userinterface may provide, e.g., a Virtual Rack Unit (VRU) configurationthat illustrates a configuration of virtual media processing devicesthat are dynamically distributed across the network processing nodesusing a familiar and intuitive physical equipment rack design.

The user interface may enable the user to add and remove applicationinstances, to provision and un-provision the virtual media processingdevices, by dragging and dropping icons in a slot on a graphical VRUconfiguration rack. Based on the configuration entered at the userinterface, a cluster manager may dynamically create and allocate thevirtual media processing devices to available network processing nodes.This removes the need for a user to physically acquire and install apiece of equipment in order to meet changing video signal needs andreduces the need for a user to overprovision equipment to meet possiblepeak capacity needs. Instead, virtual media processing devices can bedynamically instantiated and allocated across network processing nodesaccording to current signal processing capabilities needed by the user.As needs change, virtual media processing devices may be decommissioned,and new virtual media processing devices may be dynamically instantiatedand allocated across the network processing nodes.

A group of network processing nodes (e.g., 304, 306) managed by acluster manager (e.g., cluster manager 312, 312′) may be referred toherein as a cluster. The network processing nodes may be comprised inany of a personal network, a distributed network, a cloud based network,etc. A cluster manager may store applications that provide various videosignal processing capabilities. The cluster manager may dynamicallycreate a virtual media processing device according to the storedapplications based on user input regarding a signal processingcapability needed by the user. The cluster manager may distribute aninstance of the virtual media processing device, including thecorresponding applications, out to at least one network processing nodein the cluster. As a part of distributing the virtual media processingdevice to at least one node, the cluster manager may determine whetherto distribute an application for the virtual media processing device toa single node or whether to decompose the application into subsets ofthe application and to distribute the subsets to the single node or tomultiple nodes in the cluster.

The cluster manager may control the placement of software across thenetwork processing nodes of the cluster based on the available computingresources at the nodes and the requirements of the virtual mediaprocessing device. Multiple instances of the virtual media processingdevice may be instantiated and distributed to a single node or acrossmultiple nodes of the cluster to meet the capabilities needed by theuser at a given time. Different virtual media devices distributed acrossthe network processing nodes of the cluster may form a signal processingflow that may be used together to process a video signal. As the userenters different video signal processing capabilities, the virtual mediaprocessing device may be decommissioned. Different virtual mediaprocessing devices may be created and distributed by the clustermanager. Thus, a virtual video signal processing platform may beoptimized according to changing video signal processing needs.

Thus, the aspects presented herein enable a cluster manager toefficiently determine virtual media processing devices and acorresponding amount of resources required to meet a user's needs and todynamically and distribute virtual media processing devices across acluster of network processing nodes.

Aspects further provide a way to visually present the allocation to auser in a easily understood manner. A user interface may provide agraphical representation of a VRU using a familiar equipment rackstructure that correlates to the configuration of software applicationsby virtual placement of a virtual media processing device in a virtualslot of a VRU rack. FIG. 1 illustrates example aspects of a userinterface 100 presenting a VRU configuration having multiple racks, 102a, 102 b, 102 c. Each rack 102 a, 102 b, 102 c comprising a plurality ofslots 104 a-x. Rack units in the VRU configuration do not necessarilycorrespond to a physical source of computing capacity. For example, auser interface having 5 rack units does not necessarily indicate 5servers of computing capacity. In certain aspects, the VRU rack unitsmay represent an amount of overall computing capacity available to auser. At the top of the user interface 100 in FIG. 1 are tabsrepresenting additional pages of the user interface. The user interfacepage in FIG. 1 may correspond to an overview tab 110 that shows acurrent configuration of virtual media processing devices for a user.Other information may be graphically provided to the user via othertabs. FIGS. 6-8 provide a few examples of possible information thatcould be provided to the user via such a user interface.

The total number of slots 104 a-x in the VRU racks may correspond to anamount of computing resources available to the user. For example, theconfiguration of the VRU may relate to an amount of computing resourcesavailable to the user for performing broadcast processing. The userinterface allows the user to see a visual representation of the amountof available computing resources and the current allocation of thoseresources in an easily understood manner. The user interface may alsoenable the user to interact with the cluster manager to adjust theallocation of available computing resources to video processing needs inan intuitive way. The virtual media processing devices may begraphically arranged on the virtual racks in any order selected by theuser. If additional racks 102 a-c are needed, a tab with additional rowsof VRU racks may be displayed. The user interface may enable the user torename the rows of racks 102 a, 102 b, 102 c.

Different portions of the VRU racks may be assigned to virtual mediaprocessing devices, or application instances, selected by the user. Thisassignment of available computing resources to certain virtual mediaprocessing devices may be preconfigured and may also be dynamicallyconfigurable by the user. The VRU racks may visually represent theconfiguration of each application instance as a virtual piece ofequipment in the VRU racks of the user interface. This provides a visualrepresentation of a software broadcast system to the user with thefamiliar look of a physical equipment rack unit. The user is then ableto configure a video signal flow with the needed signal processingcapabilities by placing virtual media processing device icons intoavailable graphical VRU slots in an intuitive manner.

In FIG. 1, slots 104 a, 104 b, 104 c, 104 d, 104 e, 104 k, 1041, 104 m,104 n, 104 r, 104 s, and 104 t represent the assignment of computingresources to particular virtual media processing devices. Multipleinstances of the same virtual media processing device may be dynamicallyinstantiated, according to the video processing needs of the user. Forexample, 104 b illustrates a first instance of a clip player applicationnamed “Clip Player 1” and 104 m illustrates a second instance of a clipplayer application named “AdilClipPlayer.” The configuration of a slotwith an instance of a virtual media processing device may be visuallyrepresented in any of a number of ways. The slot may be labeled with aname for the virtual media processing device, the slot may be shaded adifferent color than an open slot, filled with a different fill than anopen slot, etc.

The user interface 100 may include a button 106 for each virtual mediaprocessing device that enables a user to turn the virtual mediaprocessing device on/off. Turning the virtual media processing device“on” comprises provisioning an instance of the virtual media processingdevice. Thus, once the user configures the needed virtual mediaprocessing devices in the VRU, the user may readily form any combinationof provisioned instances of the virtual media processing devicesaccording to computing capacity by simply selecting the on/off button106 on the desired application instances.

A visual representation may be provided to the user regarding whetherthe virtual media processing device is provisioned or non-provisioned.For example, the on/off button 106 may be shaded or colored a differentcolor depending on the state of the virtual media processing device. InFIG. 1, the on/off button 106 for virtual media processing device atslot 104 a, 104 b, 104 c, 104 d, and 104 t are shaded to illustrate thatthe virtual media processing device are provisioned. When a virtualmedia processing device is turned on, it is allocated to at least onenetwork processing node having enough computing resources and suitablecapabilities. During this process the on/off button 106 color mayreflect the state of the virtual media processing device as it isprovisioned and started up or executing. When a virtual media processingdevice is turned off by user selection of the on/off button 106, aconformation may be required via the cluster manager. For example, thevirtual media processing device may be decommissioned by the clustermanager. This may include, e.g., shutting down the virtual mediaprocessing device and freeing up the compute resources to be used byother things. In another example, the color of the entire virtual mediaprocessing device slot may change to indicate that the virtual mediaprocessing device is provisioned. Thus, the VRU slots may be configuredwith a number of virtual media processing devices that would go beyondthe available amount of capacity. However, the user may be limited toprovisioning only an amount of the virtual media processing devices inthe VRU that can be supported by the amount of capacity available to theuser.

FIG. 2 illustrates a closer view of an example virtual media processingdevice icon 204, e.g., corresponding to slot 1041 in FIG. 1. Eachvirtual media processing device icon may identify the type of deviceusing a background or name. For example, a background color, pattern,fill, etc. may be used to identify different types of applications.Additionally, each virtual media processing device icon may be given aunique name 202 in the foreground of the icon. In FIG. 2, the virtualmedia processing device icon 204 has the name 202 of “Logo 1.” Forapplications with requirements that that are higher than 1 VRU thevirtual media processing device name may be justified to the top so itdoesn't clash with the application type.

The user interface may comprise an edit mode that enables the user toedit a configuration of the virtual media processing device. The editmode for each application may be reached via user selection of asettings icon 208 provided at each virtual media processing device icon204. When the user selects the setting icon 208, a settings dialogue boxmay be opened, or the user interface may display a settings page for theparticular application instance. A settings page may be provided of theuser interface may be provided. The settings page may allow the user toset a maximum cluster capacity that would allow for spare space to bekept in the case of node failure. An elastic compute setting may allowrules to be set that would allow additional nodes to be dynamically spunup and closed down depending on demand. Each virtual media processingdevice icon 204 may also comprise a dustbin icon 210. Selection of suchan icon may be used to remove a virtual media processing device from theVRU rack.

New virtual media processing devices may be added to the cluster byclicking on, or otherwise selecting, one of the plus icons 112 when inan edit mode. The position of the virtual media processing device iconon the VRU racks may have no impact on the physical position of thesoftware in the cluster. However, in some implementations, the relativepositions of virtual media processing devices within the VRU racks maycontrol signal flow between the media processing applications; forexample, in some implementations, signal may be routed from a firstmedia processing application identified in a first position within theVRU rack to a second media processing application identified in asecond, adjacent position within the VRU rack. Thus, while absoluteposition within the VRU rack may not control which server within acluster executes any particular application, the position may be used toconfigure signal processing chains in some implementations. When a newvirtual media processing device is added, an application store userinterface may be shown as a dialog. The user may be presented with theoption of placing an icon for the selected virtual media processingdevice, or a specific version of the selected virtual media processingdevice, in the VRU rack. If the user selects a normal version, thenwhenever the application instance corresponding to the virtual mediaprocessing device is started or provisioned, the cluster manager willselect the package dynamically by checking which version is the currentactive one. If the user instead selects a specific version, then thatspecific version will always be used whenever the virtual mediaprocessing device is started. A warning icon or a message may bedisplayed on the cluster manager to show the user when an applicationversion for a virtual media processing device is a fixed versionspecified by the user.

The user may move virtual media processing device icons around todifferent positions on the VRU racks 102 a, 102 b, 102 c by dragging anddropping the virtual media processing device icon into a particular slotin the VRU rack. In some implementations, dragging and dropping thevirtual media processing device may reconfigure routing of signalsamongst virtual media processing devices, as discussed above.Specifically, moving a first virtual media processing device from aposition adjacent to a second virtual media processing device to aposition adjacent to a third virtual media processing device may directa router or remote device to redirect a signal from the first virtualmedia processing device previously to the third virtual media processingdevice instead of the second virtual media processing device.Additionally, if the user selects the virtual media processing deviceicon, e.g., by clicking anywhere on the virtual media processing deviceicon, a page for adjusting settings for that virtual media processingdevice may be opened and presented to the user. The user interface maypresent an edit feature that allows the user to change at least onesetting associated with a virtual media processing device. The changedsettings may be distributed, e.g., by the cluster manager to the virtualmedia processing device distributed to a network processing node.

Each virtual media processing device may be either provisioned ornon-provisioned at any particular point in time. When a virtual mediaprocessing device is provisioned, it is allocated to at least one nodewith enough space and suitable resources. A virtual media processingdevice instance may be allocated to a different computing node each timeit is provisioned, being allocated based on available resources at thetime that the virtual media processing device is turned on. The softwarefor the virtual media processing device may be held in the remotecluster manager and an instance of the application may be pushed out ordeployed to at least one network node each time an instance of thevirtual media processing device is provisioned. Non-provisioned meansthat the virtual media processing device is not currently allocated to anetwork processing node. Thus, the graphical VRU racks at the userinterface may show more potential slots 104 a-104 x than the amount ofvirtual media processing device instances that could be accommodated atonce based on the current capacity. The amount of capacity currentlybeing used by the provisioned/instantiated configuration of virtualmedia processing devices may be represented to the user in a differentmanner.

For example, in FIG. 1, a fuel gauge 108 may be presented thatillustrates the percentage of actual capacity that is currently beingused by the provisioned virtual media processing devices. The fuel gaugelevel may be based on the total amount of VRU capacity that is availableto the user. This amount of VRU capacity may be based on the availablenodes in the cluster. The fuel gauge may illustrate an amount of thetotal capacity that is currently being used based the number of runninginstances of virtual media processing devices for the user. The fuelgauge may provide a numeric representation of the amount of capacitythat is currently being used and/or may visually represent the amountthrough shading, etc. The fuel gauge may change colors depending on thelevel. For example, within a first, lower range, the fuel gauge may be afirst color. In a second, range, it may change to a second color. In athird, upper range, it may change to a third color. For example, under70% the fuel gauge may be green, above 70% it may change to amber, andabove 90% it may change to a red. The fuel gauge may reflect an amountof usable capacity according to user settings and/or cluster managersettings, for example, rather than the total capacity of the cluster.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, a user interface may be coupled to acluster manager 312, 312′ via a communications path and may give users agraphical overview of their system's current configuration provided bythe cluster manager. The user interface allows users to interact withthe cluster manager to reconfigure and adjust their video signalprocessing platform configuration at will. The system may be a system ofbroadcast software applications distributed across a cluster of networkprocessing nodes to form a video signal processing flow, e.g., forbroadcast production. Based on user input via the user interface, thecluster manager may instantiate, distribute, monitor, and/ordecommission the software applications for virtual media processingdevices to suitable network processing nodes within the cluster.

The distribution by the cluster manager may take into account theavailability of space as well as any special requirements of the virtualmedia processing device. For example, the cluster manager may be awareof a processing resource capacity and capabilities for each networkprocessing node in an available group of nodes. The cluster manager maygenerate a capabilities list for each node in the group of nodes. Thecluster manager may update the node information as new nodes are addedor become available. Based on this knowledge and a knowledge of theresource requirements and required capabilities for the virtual mediaprocessing devices for the signal processing capability input by theuser at the user interface, the cluster manager instantiates the virtualmedia processing device by distributing software for the virtual mediaprocessing device to a selected network processing node.

FIG. 3 illustrates aspects of a network system usable in accordance withthe aspects presented herein. The system includes a network 302 thatincludes various servers 304 and databases 306 and other equipment thatprovide services to various user terminals 308 via a connection, such asa connection to the Internet. The servers 304 and databases may also bereferred to as network processing nodes, nodes, nodes in a cluster,computing nodes, etc. Cluster manager 312 may be connected to the userterminals 308 via network 302 and may provide/receive communication withuser terminals 308 via a user interface to enable the user to view andcontrol their corresponding VRU configuration. Example aspects of theuser interface are described in connection with FIGS. 1, 2, and 6-8. Thecluster manager 312 may comprise, e.g., a web application running on aprocessor remote from the users at user terminal(s) 308. The clustermanager may be continually updated so that changes made to the system byone remote user are reflected on all copies of the user interfaceprovided to corresponding other users.

The system provides access to one or more users via terminals 308. In animplementation, data for use in accordance with the aspects presentedherein may be, for example, input and/or accessed by the users viaterminals 308, such as personal computers (PCs), minicomputers,mainframe computers, microcomputers, telephonic devices, or wirelessdevices, such as personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) or a hand-heldwireless device coupled to nodes 304, 306, via, for example, a network302, such as the Internet or an intranet, and couplings 310. Thecouplings 310 may include, for example, wired links, wireless links,fiber optic links, etc.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 of a method of dynamically optimizing a videosignal processing platform. The method may be performed by a remotemanager, e.g., cluster manager 312, 312′ in FIGS. 3 and 5. Such anapparatus may comprise memory, e.g., 506, and at least one processor,e.g., 504, coupled to the memory and coupled to at least one networkprocessing node, e.g., 304, 306. The at least one processor 504 may beconfigured to perform any of the aspects described in connection withFIG. 4. Optional aspects in the flowchart of FIG. 4 are illustratedusing a dashed line. At 402, the cluster manager receives a user inputregarding a signal processing capability. For example, the user inputmay be received via a user interface, as described in connection withFIGS. 1, 2, and 6-8 and may indicate a need for a particular signalprocessing capability as a part of a video signal processing flow.

Then, at 406, the cluster manager dynamically creates a virtual mediaprocessing device to provide the signal processing capability.Dynamically creating the virtual media processing device may comprisedetermining at least one application that will provide the signalprocessing capability based on the received user input.

In one example, in response to the user input at 402, the clustermanager may determine network processing node resources of at least onenetwork processing node at 408. The cluster manager may then determine acurrent distribution of other virtual media processing devices acrossthe at least one network processing node at 410. The cluster manager mayuse its knowledge of the resources and capabilities of a cluster ofnetwork processing nodes to select at least one node for thedistribution of the virtual media processing device. At 412, the clustermanager may instantiate the virtual media processing device bydistributing the created virtual media processing device to at least oneselected network processing node based on the determined networkprocessing node resources at 408 and the determined current distributionof other virtual media processing devices at 410.

Virtual media processing devices may each have an associated resourcerequirement that indicates an amount of processing resources requiredfor an instance of the virtual media processing device. Then, virtualmedia processing devices may be distributed by the cluster manager to atleast one node of the cluster based on the processing resourcerequirements of the virtual media processing device and the availableprocessing resource capacity of the various network processing nodes.Thus, the distribution at 412 may be based on requirements of anapplication instance for the virtual media processing device created at406 and a capacity of the at least one network processing node.

The distribution at 412 may include maintaining a spare networkprocessing node among a plurality of network processing nodes byrefraining from distributing the application instance to the sparenetwork processing node.

The distribution may involve an instantiation of a software applicationon at least one network processing node. The cluster manager may use itsknowledge of the application to determine whether to distribute theapplication as a single application to a single node, whether todistribute multiple subsets of the application (applets) across multiplenodes, or whether to distribute multiple subsets of the application to asingle node. Thus, the cluster manager is able to decompose theapplication into multiple applets as part of distribution to at leastone network node. The cluster manager distributes the virtual mediaprocessing device to at least one network processing node to optimize avideo signal processing platform for providing the signal processingcapability needed by the user.

In order to provision network processing nodes on a cluster bydistributing virtual media processing devices, the cluster manager maytake into account any of a number of virtual media processing deviceplacement constraints.

As a first example, the cluster manager may distribute virtual mediaprocessing device instances among the network processing nodes of thecluster based on node capabilities, e.g., among others, any of CPUusage, bandwidth, RAM usage, storage requirements, networkingrequirements, and/or special hardware dependency. Thus, thedistribution/adjustment of distribution by the cluster manager may takeinto account not only the availability of space at network processingnodes but also any special requirements of the virtual media processingdevice and the corresponding capabilities of the nodes of the cluster.The cluster manager may calculate and maintain a record of capacityand/or a record of capabilities for each network processing node in thecluster. The record of capabilities may include information regarding,among others, a GPU; SDI inputs, outputs, and resolution; networkcapability; CPU instructions, etc. of each network processing node. As apart of selecting a network processing node for distribution of thevirtual media processing device, the cluster manager may analyze therequirements of the virtual media processing device and the availableresources and the record of capabilities of the available nodes.

As a second example, the cluster manager may distribute the virtualmedia processing device instances to nodes based on specific hardwaredependency. For example, software applications for certain virtual mediaprocessing device may require among others, a video input/output (I/O)device, a GPU, and SDI input/output, etc. In another example, a graphicsprocessing application may require a GPU.

As a third example, the cluster manager may also distribute the virtualmedia processing device instances among the network processing nodesbased on whether the configuration is a main configuration or a backupconfiguration. This may help to ensure that the main/backupconfigurations are allocated on different nodes. Then, if the node onwhich the main configuration is allocated fails, the backupconfiguration may be used.

As a fourth example, the cluster manager may also distribute the virtualmedia processing device instances among the network processing nodesbased on a priority level of the virtual media processing deviceinstance. For example, the priority level may represent a keep alivepriority level. In this example, a priority of the virtual mediaprocessing device instance may be defined in the event of clusterdegradation. For example, a playout channel virtual media processingdevice might be designated as higher priority than a Logo Insertervirtual media processing device. In this example, the Cluster Managermight therefore shut down the Logo Inserter virtual media processingdevice in order to keep the playout channel virtual media processingdevice functioning in the event of node failure or cluster degradation.

As a fifth example, the cluster manager may also distribute the virtualmedia processing device instances among the network processing nodesbased on whether a virtual media processing device is a real-timevirtual media processing device, e.g., relies on real-time processing.Non real-time virtual media processing devices, such as transcoders,might be provided with CPU constraints to prevent the transcodingvirtual media processing device from grabbing more of the CPU than theCluster Manager has allowed for it. This may help to ensure that realtime virtual media processing devices have an adequate amount ofresources to meet their real-time demands.

As a sixth example, the cluster manager may distribute the virtual mediaprocessing device instances among the network processing nodes in orderto allow for headroom. For example, a fully loaded network processingnode may be limited to not using more than 80-90% CPU in order to allowfor headroom. In another example, the cluster manager may limit themaximum number of nodes that can be occupied, or used by, virtual mediaprocessing device instances at any one time so that there is always atleast one spare node in the case of failure. The cluster manager mayprovision the cluster for +1 or +n spare capacity, i.e., to maintain onespare node or n spare nodes. In this example, the capacity fuel gauge,e.g., 108 in FIG. 1, may show the capacity of available nodes and notthe total number of nodes. In the event that the cluster manager sees anode has gone offline, it may migrate all the virtual media processingdevices that were running on that node to a spare node.

Once the placement constraints have been determined for virtual mediaprocessing devices to be allocated among the network processing nodes,the cluster manager may select target nodes and may start the virtualmedia processing devices on the target nodes. This may include, forexample, spinning up applications corresponding to the virtual mediaprocessing device on a selected network processing node and settingappropriate performance constraints, e.g., CPU usages, RAM usage, etc.,for the virtual media processing device.

The cluster manager may determine at 422 that the signal processingcapability is no longer required and may dynamically decommission thecreated virtual media processing device at 424. Decommissioning thevirtual media processing device may include e.g., shutting down thevirtual media processing device and freeing up the compute resources tobe used by other things. The determination at 422 may be based onreceiving user input regarding the video signal processing capability,e.g., the user turning the virtual media device “off” at the userinterface.

An instantiated virtual media processing device and the other virtualmedia processing devices distributed across the at least one networkprocessing node may form a signal processing flow, e.g., for processinga video signal as a part of broadcast processing. This may involveestablishing connections between virtual media processing devices. Thismay be referred to as virtual “wiring” of connections between virtualmedia processing devices to form a video signal flow for processing avideo signal. As the virtual media processing devices are softwarebased, the connections may be established by e.g., by Internet Protocol(IP) connections, or SDI connections. One example connection using IPmay be established by the cluster manager between IP:PortOut->Application B IP:Port In. In another example, for SDI, the clustermanager may establish the connection by integrating with a routercontrol system. This may be done, in one example, through the use ofvirtual cross points so that the user does not have to know where theservice is physically running. For SDI, the use of an video input/output(I/O) card may be treated as a resource with the I/O manageddynamically, and its current usage of inputs and outputs may be trackedby the cluster manager. The cluster manager may also work with fixednodes, such as densite cards. When a node fails, a rules engine maydetermine how to allocate virtual media processing devices on a sparenode, and may move each virtual media processing device's settings andupdate the “wiring” (e.g., IP and Port settings) to reflect the newnode. For SDI applications, the SDI router may need to be updated toroute to/from the new node.

Although the cluster manager may function in a completely IPenvironment, virtual video processing devices may also have need tointeract with physical connections, e.g., using a virtual cross point,as described infra. For example, users that use IP may still havebaseband signals within their facility. Therefore, it may be importantfor the cluster manager to operate in a hybrid or baseband environment.This may be accomplished by the cluster manager determining or receivinginformation regarding certain network processing nodes that have a videoI/O card and also the usage of the ports on that video I/O card.Different virtual media processing devices may require different I/O,for example some may only require an output, some only an input and someboth. In addition, more complex virtual media processing devices like aplayout channel may require multiple inputs and outputs. A video I/Ocard, e.g., an AJA card, may have eight connections on it each of whichcan either be an input or an output.

When distributing virtual media processing devices that require basebandconnectivity the cluster manager may take into account the availabilityof the ports on the video I/O card for a network processing node and mayconfigure the ports accordingly. A small service may be run on eachnetwork processing node that uses the video I/O SDK in order toconfigure the card according to instructions from the cluster manager.

Beyond dynamically creating the virtual media processing device(s) at406 and distributing the created virtual media processing device(s) toselected network processing nodes at 412, the cluster manager may alsoprocess a video signal at 420 using the signal processing flow formed bythe instantiated virtual media processing device distributed across theat least one network processing node. The signal processing capabilitiesinput by the user at 402 may relate to a user need for certain signalprocessing capabilities to process a video signal as part of videosignal production and transmission. Therefore, the video signal may beprocessed using the instantiated virtual media processing device to meetthe user's needs.

Although this example has been described in connection with a singlesignal processing capability, the cluster manager may receive userinput(s) regarding a plurality of signal processing capabilities at 402.At 406, the cluster manager may dynamically instantiate a plurality ofdifferent virtual media processing device to provide the signalprocessing capabilities. The cluster manager may also instantiate aplurality of instances of the same virtual media processing device. At412, the cluster manager may distribute the instantiated plurality ofdifferent virtual media processing devices across multiple networkprocessing nodes. The cluster manager may determine that the optimaldistribution would include distributing the virtual media processingdevices to a single node, in another example. The plurality of differentvirtual media processing devices distributed across the networkprocessing nodes may form a signal processing flow. Then, at 420, thecluster manager may process a video signal at 420 using the signalprocessing flow formed by the instantiated plurality of differentvirtual media processing devices distributed across the networkprocessing nodes.

The cluster manager may determine a quality of the signal processingflow at 414. Based on the determination at 414, the cluster manager mayadjust the distribution of the instantiated plurality of differentvirtual media processing devices across the network processing nodes at416 when the determined quality is below a threshold. The qualitydetermined at 414 may be based on, e.g., any of an amount of droppedframes, a queue length, and CPU utilization.

Virtual media processing devices using a software processing engine mayfeed information on frame drops back to the cluster manager so that theVRU size of that virtual media processing device instance can beadjusted. In the event of serious frame drops the virtual mediaprocessing device resource requirement size may be adjusted and thevirtual media processing device may be moved by the cluster manager toanother network processing node having capacity for its adjustedresource requirements. Elastic compute support when running on a 3rdparty Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) may allow nodes to be added andremoved automatically based upon demand. For example, in a public datacenter, the cluster manager may request additional network processingnodes to be spun up when demand crosses a threshold level. The clustermanager may shut down the additional network processing nodes whendemand drops and the additional nodes are not being used.

Aspects may further include providing a graphical representation of aconfiguration of the virtual media processing device(s) at a userinterface, e.g., 418. The graphical representation at the user interfacemay include aspects described in connection with any of FIGS. 1, 2, and6-8. For example, the user interface may illustrate the instantiatedvirtual media processing device using a graphical illustration of a cardslot (e.g., 104 a-e, 104 k-n, 104 r-t) in a graphical representation ofan equipment rack (e.g., 102 a-c). Changes to a VRU may be graphicallypresented to the user via the user interface due to the addition/removalof an virtual media processing device icon at the user interface. Thecluster manager 312 may receive changes input by a user at the userinterface via network 302 and may create, adjust distribution, ordecommission the dynamically created virtual media processing devicesaccording to the changes input at the user interface, as described inconnection with the example of FIG. 1. Based on such user interactionwith a graphical representation of a media processing device at the userinterface, the cluster manager may dynamically instantiate anddistribute a virtual media processing device to a network node to aspart of a video signal processing flow.

The user interface may further comprise a scheduling feature thatreceives user input of a time when the virtual media processing deviceis to be provisioned across the at least one network processing node.

The cluster manager may automatically select an application at 404 thatwill provide the signal processing capability. The selected applicationmay be comprised in the virtual media processing device created at 406.Thus, the creation of the virtual media processing device at 406 may bebased on the automatic selection of an application by the clustermanager to meet the signal processing capability needs of the user.

The distribution of the virtual media processing device to a selectednetwork processing node may be based on network processing noderesources and a current distribution of other virtual media processingdevices. The cluster manager may further assign memory resources of theat least one processing node based on a video picture format. Forexample, the memory resources of the processing node(s) may be allocatedbased on at least one of picture resolution, frame rate, computationalhorse power and memory access bandwidth

Signal processing applications for a virtual media processing device maytypically require CPU cycles for computation and memory capacity forinstruction code, independent variables and intermediate computationalresults. However, memory may be a functional requirement of theapplication in order to generate delay, or convert between time bases.Frame synchronizers may be used to align video signals coming from atime basis which is asynchronous to the common time base used for aparticular production. A broadcast facility often calls this processingest. A memory buffer which can store at least 1 frame of video, andbit more, may be used to then align the incoming video to the processingtime base, occasionally dropping or repeating a frame. In the dynamicenvironment present herein, the cluster manager may assign memory moreoptimally based upon its knowledge of the video picture format requiringalignment, e.g., because higher resolution signals need more memory.

For example, in a different application, video recorders may operate ata higher frame rate than normal play back. One example application mayrecord at 6 x the normal frame rate. This allows the example applicationto play back its recorder images in super slow motion. Because there are6× the number of images, the example, application may use compression tostore the images, which incurs some latency. This may require processingmemory and storage memory.

The cluster manager may allocate such memory. This process could bedistributed across nodes in concept, however, a very low latency may berequired. This might be difficult, however, when the application is usedin real-time type applications, such as live sports applications thatmust appear to be real time.

A node may have variable memory capacity, increasing internal busbandwidth and more computational horsepower. There will likely beadvances in CODEC algorithms. The cluster manager may allocate resourcesbased upon any of CODEC type, picture resolution, frame rate,computational horse power and memory access bandwidth, etc. Given thisrich pallet of options, there could be more than one applicationgenerated when the resolution is low, or the application may bedistributed across nodes when the compression ratio is high and the CODEalgorithm is low latency. The cluster manager also provides an option toallocate the whole node's memory, e.g., in order to create a fullbandwidth, high resolution application. While such an application mightnot be viable as a stand-alone product, e.g., the CAPEX may beprohibitive. However, as a virtual device, the cluster manager maydynamically provide such capabilities. The cluster manager may optimizestorage as an integral part of the signal processing application, notjust simply as instruction and computational storage.

The cluster manager may provide a scheduling feature that enables a userto enter a time at which a virtual media processing device instance isto be provisioned. For example, a calendar icon may be provided at auser interface to launch a booking system. The booking system may enablethe user to schedule the provisioning of different instances of virtualmedia processing devices for different days or times of day. Forexample, a number of ingest virtual media processing devices may bescheduled for provisioning in the morning. Then, a number of playoutvirtual media processing devices may be scheduled to be provisioned atthe end of the day, e.g., during prime time playout. This allows a userto manage a general computer as a VRU and to dynamically adjust the VRUaccording to varying needs and to schedule such adjustments in advanceaccording to anticipated needs. The scheduling feature enables the userto dynamically adjust an amount of processing resources used at anyparticular time. Once instantiated, virtual media processing device mayshow as an icon in the VRU. This visually represents a traditional wayof installing equipment. However, the user does not need to be aware ofa physical location of the virtual media processing equipment, theunderlying software, or the network processing nodes with availablecapacity. Instead, the user is able to configure a video signal flowwith virtual media processing devices using a VRU at a user interface.

Aspects may further include the dynamic update of resource requirementsfor a virtual media processing device based on actual usage of virtualmedia processing device instance. For example, a particular virtualmedia processing device instance may have an initial resourcerequirement setting. Monitoring software at the cluster manager maymonitor the actual capacity used by the particular client over time forthe virtual media processing device instance. Using analytics, thecluster manager may determine that for this particular client, theresource requirement for the virtual media processing device instanceshould be adjusted up or down. The cluster manager may generate aprofile over time for the virtual media processing device instance forthe user. The resource requirement for virtual media processing devicesmay even change over time for a client as their needs change. The sizeof the virtual media processing device icon may change with theadjustment to the resource requirements. A user may need to approve thechange in resource requirements via the user interface. For example, aproposed adjustment to the resource requirements for a virtual mediaprocessing device may be presented to the user via the user interfaceand approval may be requested. If the user indicates their approval, thechange may go into effect. As an alternative, a user may select adynamic control option that enables automatic dynamic control of VRUrequirements.

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 312′ employing a processing system 514.The apparatus 500 may comprise or be comprised in cluster manager 312from FIG. 3, and may have a connection via communications path 522 tonetwork 502 (e.g., network 302) and via network 502 to user terminal 508(e.g., 308).

The apparatus may comprise a reception component 532 configured toreceive a user input regarding a signal processing capability, and acreation component 534 configured to dynamically create a virtual mediaprocessing device to provide the signal processing capability. Theapparatus may also comprise a network node component 536 configured todetermine network processing node resources of network processing nodesand determine a current distribution of other virtual media processingdevices across the network processing nodes. The apparatus may comprisea distribution component 540 configured to distribute the virtual mediaprocessing device to a selected network processing node based on thedetermination by the network node component 536. The apparatus mayinclude an application selection component 538 configured toautomatically select an application that will provide the signalprocessing capability. The apparatus may comprise a quality component542 configured to determine a quality of the signal processing flow,wherein the distribution by the distribution component may be adjustedbased on the determined quality. The apparatus may comprise a userinterface component 544 configured to provide a graphical representationof the instantiated virtual media processing device at a user interface.The apparatus may comprise a video signal processing component 546configured to process a video signal using the signal processing flowformed by the instantiated virtual media processing device and the othervirtual media processing devices distributed across the networkprocessing nodes. The apparatus may comprise a decommission component548 configured to dynamically decommission the created virtual mediaprocessing device when the signal processing capability is no longerrequired. The determination may be based on a user input at a userinterface and received by the apparatus via the reception component 532.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of theblocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowchart of FIG. 4 andthat performs the aspects described in connection with FIGS. 1-4 and6-8. As such, each block in the aforementioned flowchart of FIG. 4 maybe performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more ofthose components. The components may be one or more hardware componentsspecifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm,implemented by a processor configured to perform the statedprocesses/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium forimplementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

The processing system 514 may be implemented with a bus architecture,represented generally by the bus 524. The bus 524 may include any numberof interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system 514 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 524 links together various circuits including oneor more processors and/or hardware components, represented by theprocessor 504, the components 532, 534, 536, 538, 540, 542, 544, 546,548, and the computer-readable medium/memory 506. The bus 524 may alsolink various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltageregulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in theart, and therefore, will not be described any further.

The processing system 514 may be coupled to a communications path via acommunication interface that provide means for communicating withvarious other apparatus over a transmission medium. The communicationinterface receives a signal from the communications path, extractsinformation from the received signal, and provides the extractedinformation to the processing system 514. In addition, the communicationinterface receives information from the processing system 514, and basedon the received information, generates a signal to be transmitted to theother devices via the communications path.

Communications interface 520 allows software and data to be transferredbetween processing system and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 520 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communications interface 520 may beare in the form of signals, which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 520. These signals 520 may be provided to communicationsinterface 520 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 522, e.g., vianetwork 302 in FIG. 3. This path 522 carries signals and may beimplemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, acellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link and/or other communicationschannels.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 506. Computer programs may also be received viacommunications interface 520. Such computer programs, when executed,enable the processing system 514 to perform the VRU aspects, asdiscussed herein. The processing system 514 includes a processor 504coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 506. The processor 504 isresponsible for general processing, including the execution of softwarestored on the computer-readable medium/memory 506. The software, whenexecuted by the processor 504, causes the processing system 514 toperform the various functions described supra for any particularapparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 506 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 504 when executingsoftware. The processing system 514 further includes at least one of thecomponents 532, 534, 536, 538, 540, 542, 544, 546, 548. The componentsmay be software components running in the processor 504, resident/storedin the computer readable medium/memory 506, one or more hardwarecomponents coupled to the processor 504, or some combination thereof.

In one configuration, the apparatus 500/312′ may include means forreceiving a user input regarding a signal processing capability, meansfor dynamically creating a virtual media processing device to providethe signal processing capability, means for determining networkprocessing node resources of the at least one network processing node,means for determining a current distribution of other virtual mediaprocessing devices across the at least one network processing node,means for distributing the virtual media processing device to a selectednetwork processing node, means for maintaining a spare networkprocessing node among a plurality of network processing nodes, means forprocessing a video signal using the signal processing flow formed by theinstantiated virtual media processing device, means for determining aquality of the signal processing flow, means for adjusting thedistribution of the plurality of different virtual media processingdevices across the network processing nodes, means for determining thatthe signal processing capability is no longer required, means fordynamically decommissioning the created virtual media processing device,means for providing a graphical representation of the virtual mediaprocessing device at a user interface, and means for assigning memoryresources of the at least one processing node based on a video pictureformat. The aforementioned means may be one or more of theaforementioned components of the apparatus 500/312′ and/or theprocessing system 514 of the apparatus 500/312′ configured to performthe functions recited by the aforementioned means.

The user interface, e.g., described in connection with FIG. 1 mayinclude additional aspects.

Different applications may have different computer requirements. Suchcomputer requirement may be more than just a CPU usage, it may includeany of CPU usage, bandwidth, RAM usage, storage requirements, networkingrequirements, headroom, disk usage, specific hardware dependency,priority, etc. The size of each virtual media processing device in theVRU may vary based on an amount of requirements of the software for thevirtual media processing device. For example, in FIG. 1, the virtualmedia processing device icon for a playout channel, e.g. iTX at slot 104t is larger than the virtual media processing device icons for Stills-1at slot 104 a, Clip Player 1 at slot 104 b, etc. In this example, theplayout channel virtual media processing device may only require 5-6% ofCPU most of the time. However, at transition or other points of time,the playout channel virtual media processing device may spike usage to20%. Thus, headroom may be allocated to accommodate for such spikes incapacity usage.

For example, the virtual media processing device icon 104 t is shown aslarger than the still and logo icons 104 a, 104 k, 104 l. Thisdifference in size allows a user to visually recognize the bandwidthrequirements of different virtual media processing device that the usermay provision. Software has no physical size for an equipment rack, sothis size of the virtual media processing device may be a virtual sizerelating to computing capacity and other requirements of the virtualmedia processing device. A pricing model may be established based onrack unit usage, e.g., based on compute requirements and business value.For example, a slot of requirements resources in a VRU may have anestablished price. The user may then pay according to the number of VRUslots that the user desires to configure. As described for the virtualmedia processing device 104 t, the requirements of an application mayvary. Therefore, the cost of such an application may be based onpotential requirements and may be higher than a current requirement.

The VRU requirements may be established or defined in a package and maynot be reduced by an user. A user may instantiate multiple instances ofa virtual media processing device. Each instance may have its ownvirtual media processing device icon so that the user can be aware ofthe resources required for each instance. The virtual media processingdevice may be purchased or otherwise selected from an application storeonce, and may then be instantiated as many times as the user desireswithin their available computing capacity, as indicated by their VRUrack configuration. If the user runs low on VRU capacity, the user maypurchase or otherwise select additional VRU capacity and may then fillthe VRU capacity with any desired combination of virtual mediaprocessing devices for applications to which they have access.

Aspects may include collecting VRU usage and reporting it in a monthlymanner, annual manner, etc. The cluster may generate a log with detailsregarding application instances and VRU usage statistics.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example page 600 of a user interface, e.g., of theVRU user interface of FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 5. In FIG. 6, the packages tab610 is highlighted to indicate which page is presented. The user mayaccess the packages page 600 by selecting the packages tab 410 at theuser interface illustrated in any of FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 5. The packagestab 610 may display an application store that presents the user withinformation regarding potential virtual media processing devices forpurchase or selection. The application store provided via the packagespage may be refreshed via the Cloud so that it is always up to date. Theuser may view and/or search for virtual media processing devices. Thepackages page may provide a description 602 regarding what the virtualmedia processing device does and an example screen shot 604 regarding apotential virtual media processing device. In FIG. 6, information isdisplayed regarding a potential Stills Store application. New virtualmedia processing devices may be marked with a “new” indication. Anyvirtual media processing devices that have a version higher than theversion currently installed in the user's VRU racks may be marked withan “updated” indication. A label 606 may be highlighted to indicatedwhether the category of the virtual media processing device istransmission, production, signal processing, engineering, etc. A list610 of potential applications may be presented. A search bar 608 mayenable the user to search and/or filter the list 610 of virtual mediaprocessing devices using entry of a search word. Clicking on, orotherwise selecting, a virtual media processing device from the list 610may cause additional details to be displayed. Such additional detailsmay comprise any of a full screen shot, a full virtual media processingdevice description, a VRU requirement, any other dependencies orrequirements, such as GPU requirements, a non-real time indicator, and alist of versions. For example, in FIG. 6, the Stills Store virtual mediaprocessing device is selected, as indicated by the shading. Theavailable versions for the Stills Store are listed at 612, along withinformation regarding the versions. A button may be provided on eachversion in the list that provides detailed information regarding releasenotes for the specific version. Additionally, a button 614 may beprovided that marks the selected release as the active release. The“active” release is the release that will be used when a virtual mediaprocessing device instance is started up. A user may select a particularversion for purchase. As an alternative, when a virtual media processingdevice is purchased, all of the versions may be made available to theuser. Then, when the user installs an virtual media processing deviceinstance at their VRU racks, the user may select the desired version.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example status page 700 of the user interface thatillustrates a summary of the status of each of the virtual mediaprocessing device instances in the VRU configuration at the userinterface, e.g., the VRU from FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 8. In FIG. 7, the statustab 702 is highlighted. The status page may identify all of theinstalled virtual media processing devices and may provide technicalinformation about each of those virtual media processing deviceinstances. For example, the status page may identify each virtual mediaprocessing device instance by name and may provide information in a listregarding any of state, a package, and a version of each of the virtualmedia processing device instances. When one application from the list isselected, e.g., in FIG. 7, Clip Player 1 (SD) is selected, additionaldetails regarding that virtual media processing device instance may bedisplayed. As illustrated, these additional details may include any ofname, state, description, previous state, health, a URI, and acorresponding process for the selected virtual media processing deviceinstance. The user may access the status page by selecting the statustab 402 at the user interface.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example Nodes page 800 of the user interface thatillustrates information about the installed network processing nodes inthe cluster and provides details about the type of node and what iscurrently running on the node. In FIG. 8, the nodes tab 802 ishighlighted. The user may access the nodes page by selecting the nodestab 802 at the user interface. As in FIG. 8, tabs 804 a, 804 b may beprovided to display information regarding different network processingnodes. In FIG. 8, the Node 1 tab 804 a is selected. In the example inFIG. 8, information regarding the network processing node is displayedincluding a device class, VRU size, VRU that is free, a URL, notesregarding the health of the network processing node. The number ofvirtual media processing devices, whether the virtual media processingdevices are running, have errors or have failed may also be included forNode 1. The amount of memory may be detailed, including the amount ofavailable memory and the amount of memory being used. In FIG. 8, a listof virtual media processing devices allocated to Node 1 is listed alongwith each virtual media processing device's state. In FIG. 8, the Logovirtual media processing device is selected, as indicated by theshading. Through the selection of the Logo virtual media processingdevice instance, the details of the virtual media processing deviceinstance are displayed, e.g., including virtual media processing deviceinstance name, state, previous state, description, package, memoryusage, processor usage, and health. Therefore, the nodes page 800enables the user to access and view details regarding each virtual mediaprocessing device instance allocated to that network processing node.

The nodes page 800 may provide a number of features to the user tomanage the network processing nodes in the cluster. The nodes page mayallow a user to take a node offline to prevent it being used for furtherrequests. The nodes page may allow a user to force a virtual mediaprocessing device to migrate off a network processing node to a newnetwork processing node. For example, a network processing node may bemarked as offline so that it could be freed up for maintenance.

Although not illustrated, an edit page may also be provided thatprovides a user interface that allows the user to add and remove virtualmedia processing devices. This may be similar to an application store,such as at package page 600, and may present options regarding thevirtual media processing devices for download. A user may merely selecta virtual media processing device for download. The selected virtualmedia processing device may then be downloaded to the remote clustermanager associated with the user.

Once downloaded, the virtual media processing device may be instantiatedas many times as the user would like. Each instance will requirecapacity to be provisioned.

At times, due to the VRU configuration, a cluster manager may need tocommunicate with the plant router, but is not straightforward due to thefact that virtual media processing devices may be on different sourceson the router at different times. In order to solve this problem,virtual cross points may be used. The virtual cross points may beinitially set up manually in the router control system as virtual mediaprocessing devices are initially added to the cluster. For example, if 4still stores were added to the system, a user may find 4 sources on therouter labelled Stills-1 to 4, regardless of where still store instanceswere actually running. By adding 4 virtual cross points comprising asource and a destination called Stills-1 to 4, enables the user toconfigure the virtual media processing device to route the currentphysical output to the virtual destination. The routing may happenwhenever a virtual media processing device instance starts up.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may berearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least oneof A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, Aand B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinationsmay contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structuraland functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims.Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to thepublic regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited inthe claims. The words “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” and the like maynot be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claim element isto be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expresslyrecited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed:
 1. A system for dynamic allocation of media processingresources for a media production, the system comprising: a resourcemanager configured to determine a total amount of computing resources ofa plurality of remote computing devices in a cloud network that areavailable for virtual media processing applications for the mediaproduction; a display screen configured to display a user interface witha graphical illustration for a virtual configuration of the mediaproduction, with the virtual configuration including a plurality ofnodes that represent the plurality of remote computing devices and thatare configured to be provisioned for at least one of the virtual mediaprocessing applications; wherein a total number of the plurality ofnodes of the virtual configuration represents the total amount ofcomputing resources available for the virtual media processingapplications; wherein the user interface is configured to receive a userinput to provision a node of the plurality of nodes for at least one ofthe virtual media processing application; wherein the resource manageris configured to dynamically allocate the remote computing device thatis represented by the provisioned node to execute the at least one ofthe virtual media processing application in response to the user input;and wherein the node provisioned for the at least one of the virtualmedia processing application provides a graphical representation on theuser interface that indicates an amount of computing resources utilizedby the respective remote computing device that is proportional to thetotal amount of computing resources available.
 2. The system accordingto claim 1, wherein the graphical illustration for the virtualconfiguration comprises at least one virtual equipment rack comprising aplurality of slots that correspond to the plurality of nodesrepresenting the plurality of remote computing devices.
 3. The systemaccording to claim 2, wherein each allocated remote computing deviceoccupies a number of slots of the plurality of slots of the virtualequipment rack that is proportional to the amount of computing resourcesutilized by an instance of the virtual media processing application thatcorresponds to the allocated remote computing device.
 4. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the user interface is configured toreceive the user input as a dragging and dropping of an icon thatrepresents the at least one of the virtual media processing applicationto be executed by the remote computing device that is represented by thenode.
 5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the icon visuallyrepresents a bandwidth requirement for the remote computing device thatis executed the respective virtual media processing application.
 6. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of nodescomprises an indicator of an execution state of the correspondingvirtual media processing application, with the execution statescomprising one of provisioned, executing, and non-provisioned.
 7. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein, responsive to the user input tothe user interface, the resource manager is configured to transmit aconfiguration command to the allocated remote computing device forconfiguration thereof to execute the at least one of the virtual mediaprocessing application in response to the user input.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the resource manager is configured todirect the plurality of remote computing devices in the cloud network toprovide a media signal for the media production from a first virtualmedia processing application to a second virtual media processingapplication, responsive to a first item of virtual equipmentcorresponding to the first virtual media processing applicationoccupying a node coupled to a node containing a second item of virtualequipment corresponding to the second virtual media processingapplication in the virtual configuration of the media production.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the user interface is further configured todisplay on the display screen an indicator of a total amount of mediaprocessing capacity available for all of the plurality of remotecomputing devices in the cloud network.
 10. A system for dynamicallocation of media processing resources for a media production, thesystem comprising: a resource manager configured to determine availablecomputing resources of a plurality of remote computing devices in acloud network that are configurable for virtual media processingapplications for the media production; a display screen configured todisplay a user interface with a graphical illustration for a virtualconfiguration for the media production, with the virtual configurationincluding a plurality of nodes that represent the plurality of remotecomputing devices and that are configured to be provisioned for at leastone of the virtual media processing applications; wherein the userinterface is configured to receive a user input as a dragging anddropping of an icon to provision a node of the plurality of nodes, withthe icon representing the at least one of the virtual media processingapplication to be executed by the remote computing device that isrepresented by the provisioned node; and wherein the resource manager isconfigured to dynamically allocate the remote computing device that isrepresented by the provisioned node to execute the at least one of thevirtual media processing application in response to the user input. 11.The system according to claim 10, wherein the icon visually represents abandwidth requirement for the remote computing device that is executedthe respective virtual media processing application.
 12. The systemaccording to claim 10, wherein a total number of the plurality of nodesof the virtual configuration represents the total amount of computingresources available for the virtual media processing applications. 13.The system according to claim 12, wherein the provisioned node for theat least one of the virtual media processing application provides agraphical representation on the user interface that indicates an amountof computing resources utilized by the respective remote computingdevice that is proportional to the total amount of computing resourcesavailable.
 14. The system according to claim 10, wherein the graphicalillustration for the virtual configuration comprises at least onevirtual equipment rack comprising a plurality of slots that correspondto the plurality of nodes representing the plurality of remote computingdevices.
 15. The system according to claim 14, wherein each allocatedremote computing device occupies a number of slots of the plurality ofslots of the virtual equipment rack that is proportional to the amountof computing resources utilized by an instance of the virtual mediaprocessing application that corresponds to the allocated remotecomputing device.
 16. The system according to claim 10, wherein each ofthe plurality of nodes comprises an indicator of an execution state ofthe corresponding virtual media processing application, with theexecution states comprising one of provisioned, executing, andnon-provisioned.
 17. The system according to claim 10, wherein,responsive to the user input to the user interface, the resource manageris configured to transmit a configuration command to the allocatedremote computing device for configuration thereof to execute the atleast one of the virtual media processing application in response to theuser input.
 18. The system according to claim 10, wherein the resourcemanager is configured to direct the plurality of remote computingdevices in the cloud network to provide a media signal for the mediaproduction from a first virtual media processing application to a secondvirtual media processing application, responsive to a first item ofvirtual equipment corresponding to the first virtual media processingapplication occupying a node coupled to a node containing a second itemof virtual equipment corresponding to the second virtual mediaprocessing application in the virtual configuration of the mediaproduction.
 19. The system of claim 10, wherein the user interface isfurther configured to display on the display screen an indicator of atotal amount of media processing capacity available for all of theplurality of remote computing devices in the cloud network.
 20. A systemfor dynamic allocation of media processing resources for a mediaproduction, the system comprising: means for determining availablecomputing resources of a plurality of remote computing devices in acloud network that are configurable for virtual media processingapplications for the media production; means for displaying a userinterface with a graphical illustration for a virtual configuration forthe media production, with the virtual configuration including aplurality of nodes that represent the plurality of remote computingdevices and that are configured to be provisioned for at least one ofthe virtual media processing applications; means for receiving a userinput as a dragging and dropping of an icon to provision a node of theplurality of nodes, with the icon representing the at least one of thevirtual media processing application to be executed by the remotecomputing device that is represented by the provisioned node; and meansfor dynamically allocating the remote computing device that isrepresented by the provisioned node to execute the at least one of thevirtual media processing application in response to the user input.